News subscriptions vulnerable to being seen as ‘not worth it’

The idea for subscriptions originated in the media sector, but news organisations are finding that their value to consumers is more easily questioned than that of entertainment brands, figures from Oxford’s Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism suggest. 

Why subscriptions matter

Subscriptions for news, entertainment, or even household essentials like toilet paper are all around us. The business model became extremely popular when non-traditional sectors discovered a large and generally more predictable revenue stream built on one key decision to buy rather than a series of decisions to buy each week or month. As the model has proliferated, however, competition has intensified, leaving news brands exposed to being seen as ‘not worth it’. 

What’s going on

The study from the Reuters Institute combines data for 20 countries from its annual Digital News Report with 110 qual interviews across the UK, US, and Germany. 

• Beware introductory offers. While price promotions or introductory offers are effective in bringing onboard new subscribers, many drop off once the deal ends and they are asked to pay full price – chiming with Les Binet’s observation that “price promotions are the crack cocaine of marketing.”
  
• Differentiation. People are attracted to news brands when the content is the differentiating factor, and considered high quality, curated, and exclusive. A strong brand, based on a perception of quality and a good experience, is also vital. 
• Market context matters. In the US, 21% of people surveyed subscribe to a digital news product; in Germany the figure is 11% and in the UK it's 9%, because there are more free news services and fewer pay. The aggressive pricing of entertainment streaming services have a similar effect of conditioning expectations. 

Key quote

“News is as important as anything, but if I were to cut one, I would first think of cutting my news subscription before any other” – Male, 29, based in the United States and a new subscriber. 

Sourced from Reuters, WARC